


Natural Galarian

by Redawilo



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Black & White | Pokemon Black and White Versions, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Gen, Rated T for language, ambiguous BW protag gender, how to tag this..., will add more tags in general probably, will tag more characters as they come
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:28:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22458769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redawilo/pseuds/Redawilo
Summary: Pokemon trainer Natural, formerly Team Plasma's King N, has arrived in the Galar region after leaving Unova. As it is the first place he's visited outside of his home region he's there to rest, to learn, to heal, and to grow. Fortunately for him everyone in Galar seems to be incredibly kind, and the professor even pulls some strings for him. His goal becomes to travel the region, meet its important figureheads, and to learn whatever he can from them.A story of N traveling Galar and making friends with the cast of gym leaders (and others) that we all know and love!
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), N | Natural Harmonia Gropius/Touko | Hilda, N | Natural Harmonia Gropius/Touya | Hilbert
Comments: 9
Kudos: 92





	1. Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize upfront for the title of this fic. It's literally the only thing I could think of but "N in Galar" and even then it's only barely a step up from that.

The forest looked like as good a place to as any. The late hour made it difficult to find a clearing, but find one they did. A small strip of land beside a pond was where they were able to touch down. The rider slipped off his pokemon, who immediately laid down on the soft, cool grass at their feet. The trainer knelt down beside it and stroked its neck and body, softly whispering thanks and praise for its hard work. The pokemon raised its head and gave a tired little groan. Taking its head gently in his hands, the trainer pressed their foreheads together.

“Rest now, my friend.”

The pokemon closed its eyes and sighed, more than ready to sleep. The trainer returned it to its ball for safety and to let it rest properly. With that out of the way, the trainer got back to his feet and took in his surroundings. It seemed that he had landed beside some ruins. Just looking at them he couldn’t tell what they had been for. A broken stone arch with a flower motif and a raised platform overlooking the water, and on that platform sat a short stone tablet that could have been just about anything. The only hint he was given were the little hooks protruding from the tablet that surely once held something.

While curious, he decided his time would be far better spent getting some sleep himself. While his pokemon had done all the work in coming here, riding on its back across an entire ocean was no small feat. Looking around him it seemed that wild pokemon had no interest in coming to the small pond despite it being a precious source of water. That, or they were scared off by his arrival. Either way, he decided that there beside the ruins would be the best spot to settle down for the rest of the night. It wasn’t his first night out in the wilderness, and chances are it wouldn’t be his last.

*****

Morning dawned and the sunlight streamed down through the trees. The sounds of pokemon foreign to him reached the trainer’s ears and brought him to wakefulness. He lifted his hat that had been covering his face and peered at the forest again. The pond water sparkled, drawing his attention as he sat up and stretched. With the new light he found it odd that there was a small mound of dirt protruding from the water that appeared to have been recently disturbed; the pile concave in two place at its top instead of hill-like, and lumps of earth strewn about it in the water.

Again, the trainer reasoned that investigating it would get him nowhere. But his curiosity had been piqued, and so he resigned himself to asking the locals if he wanted answers. Putting his cap back on, he quickly took stock of his few belongings and headed into the forest. Despite there being a thick fog blanketing the woods themselves, the trainer found it little trouble to navigate the paths before him. In all his years he had learned how wild pokemon would form their trails and how to follow them. Just because he was in a foreign region didn’t change what he knew at the basics level.

As he walked he kept an eye out for wild pokemon. He spotted a few here and there between the trees, some even keeping an eye on him as he walked. All were unknown to him, save for a small herd of munna that floated passed him uncaringly. A feeling of excitement came over him, and he had to suppress the urge to stop and speak to these strange creatures he had never laid eyes on before. To get to know them, both as a whole and on an individual level. But on he pressed instead. There would be time to make new friends later. For now, he needed to find civilization.

After all, he hadn’t left his home just to continue doing what he had been doing all his life. No, he was there to learn new things…from other _people_. Not just pokemon.

Eventually the fog lifted and the trees thinned and the trainer found himself on a dirt trail leading towards what appeared to be a small farming village. A scattering of white pokemon ate and played in the pastures, rolling about and bleating merrily. A smile crossed his face as he stopped to watch a pair roll by him on the other side of a stone half-wall. It was unusual, the way they chose to move, but more than that he found it exceedingly cute.

A gate barred his entrance into the village proper, but that was hardly anything when he could just…climb over it. He passed by a little house covered in greenery and heard the happy cries of a handful of pokemon. Taking a closer look, he was delighted to see three grass pokemon sunning themselves among the flowers.

“Having a good morning?” he found himself asking them. All three made happy little noises and clapped the buds on their heads. The trainer laughed. “I’ll leave you to it, then.”

There wasn’t a whole lot to the village, and most of the other houses didn’t catch his interest at all. However one of them _did_ have a small area out in front of it that reminded him greatly of the fields used for pokemon battles. He assumed it was there for somebody young to practice on.

It felt…strange…to think about that. Of children playing by having their (often equally young) pokemon do battle. The trainer had to tamp down the reflexive flaring of hatred in his heart. He walked quickly passed that house. There was still so, so much he had to work on. And while he hated that his first instinct was to be bitter, he reminded himself that he had come all the way here to heal.

To learn, to heal, to grow. And then one day, perhaps, he could return home and make amends for what he had done.

Before he knew it he had traveled all the way out onto a route. The sign simply read “1”, and he couldn’t help but find it fitting that he would start his new journey there. The route itself was tiny, a round-ish section of road that ran between the village and a little town that he could see not far off in the distance. There was a relatively straight shot he could easily take to get there, but he decided to take the long way around instead.

The tall grass offered a variety of pokemon he had never seen before. While he had kept himself from stopping to speak with the pokemon of the forest, he couldn’t contain himself and ended up sitting down and coaxing the wild inhabitants into coming to him. A few of them were more than happy to come up and see what he was doing, but some took a little more effort. An offering of berries seemed to do the trick, and soon the trainer found himself learning the names of all these new pokemon. Caterpie, hoothoot, grubbin, skwovet, blipbug, rookiedee, nickit, and even the rolly-polly wooloo. Cute as they each were, the trainer found himself wanting to bring all of them along with him. He had the pokeballs to capture them, and he knew all too well that picking up new companions would be an important part of what he was doing, but he couldn’t bring himself to take them along.

Except, when he finally decided to head for the town he could see, one of the blipbugs wouldn’t stop following him. It seemed the thing had taken a shining to him. The trainer tried to tell it to go back, but it didn’t listen. Instead it crawled along behind him at its slow pace. The trainer didn’t have it in him to keep walking and leave it behind.

So he took a pokeball from his pocket and set it down upon the ground. The blipbug’s eyes shined and the little thing quickened its pace as fast as it could. It bumped the button of the pokeball and went inside of its own volition, not putting up the least bit of fight and the ball clicked and lit up green with no wriggling. The trainer then picked up the ball and held it in his hands.

“I promise, I won’t make you regret choosing to come with me. And if you ever do, just say the word and I’ll bring you right back home.” He murmured to it.

The town proved to be livelier than the village. People gathered around the train station and the markets. No one seemed to pay any mind to him passing through, which he felt was a blessing. And yet it felt…strange…to be able to blend into a crowd again. Nice in its own way, but unsettling from what he had become used to.

He found himself eyeing up the stock a berry merchant had. The trainer had always been one to prefer natural remedies for pokemon over the kinds of things one could purchase from a Pokemon Center. He decided to pick a few berries up while he was there. As he waited in line he noticed some posters dotted here and there. A purple-haired man of similar age to him was featured on a few of them, always striking an unusual pose. The newest of which had the words “Battle Tower” printed in large lettering across the top and bottom. Before the trainer had a chance to read anything further about him, it was his turn in line.

“Would you mind telling me,” the trainer spoke to the merchant after making his purchase. “Who is that man?” he pointed to the posters.

The merchant stared at him as if he’d grown a second head for a moment before piecing together a few clues. “Ah, you’re a foreigner! No wonder your accent’s all weird. And you speak far too fast!” The man chuckled. “That there is the undefeated Champion of Galar! Well, _former_ -undefeated Champion. Leon lost his title right about eight months ago now.”

“Champion of Galar?” the trainer repeated, staring harder at the pictures of him. “As in, of the Galar Pokemon League?”

“That’s right! Man had the title for the last ten years. Finally got dethroned by a kid he had endorsed himself. Talk about irony!”

“Thank you.” The trainer said before leaving with his purchase. He approached the posters and got a better look at the newest one. The man, Leon, was dressed differently than he had been in all of the other ones. From what he could gather, this “Battle Tower” was the man’s new project after losing his title. Apparently it was in some place called Wyndon. The trainer smirked.

Well, now he had a new goal for himself. Even if this Leon guy was no longer the champion it would surely not be a waste of his time to meet him. To see what it took to become champion in Galar for ten whole years.

The barking of a pokemon snapped him out of his thoughts. A tiny dog pokemon was scampering about yipping at anything and everything. A few people laughed, others quickly jumped out of the way as it bounded passed them. The trainer watched it heading his way, and before he could think about it, he had quickly bent down and scooped it up off the ground.

He could feel static prickling him from the pokemon’s fur as it wriggled and flailed its feet. It stuck its tongue out and began panting as it realized it wasn’t going to be going anywhere. A voice from the crowd called out to him.

“Thank you! He took off running and I couldn’t catch him!”

A young woman perhaps a few years older than him caught up and scolded the pokemon. It didn’t seem to pay any mind to it, instead squirming out of the trainer’s hands and jumping into her arms.

“I’m really sorry about that. He never does this.” She sighed.

“It’s no trouble. Pokemon are intelligent creatures. It’s expected they would run off sometimes.”

The woman finally stopped and looked at him properly. She stared at him in shock for a split second before breathing a small laugh. “I suppose you’re right. Though you’d think they’d listen better, since they’re _so smart_.” She said the last bit in a sarcastic manner, petting her pokemon’s head. Despite the teasing, she smiled lovingly at the dog before turning her attention back to the trainer. “Say, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around here before. You from out of town?”

“From another region, actually.”

The woman gasped, a hand over her mouth. “Oh! That explains the accent! Well then! Let me be the first to welcome you to Wedgehurst. Aaaand all of Galar?” She held her hand out for him and he shook it.

“Yes, Galar too.”

She laughed again. “Knew it! In that case I should introduce myself. Sonia’s the name. _Professor_ Sonia!” The trainer blinked at her, surprise evident on his face. She began to twirl a lock of hair around a finger. “Okay, so, I’m new to this whole professor thing. My grandmother, Professor Magnolia, passed on the title to me only earlier this year. But I’ve already contributed a lot to Galar _and_ I have my own assistant. So I like to think it’s all pretty official.” She thrust the finger in the trainer’s direction. “Now tell me, what’s _your_ name?”

“I…” He hesitated for a moment. “…am Natural.”

Sonia raised an eyebrow at him. “Natural, eh? Unique! I like it! Well, Natural, why not come by my lab? Since you’re new to the region I can give you a few tips. Besides, you look like you could use something to eat and I’ll have you know the former champion _loves_ my cooking!”

“If you wouldn’t mind having me…”

“Of course! Somebody around here’s got to show you some hospitality. May as well be me!” She turned on her heel and motioned for him to follow. “Come on. My lab’s not far.”

Just like that, Natural found himself following Sonia through Wedgehurst. He couldn’t help but find it odd how friendly she was being to a complete stranger, but then again he’d gotten the impression (from his albeit limited encounters) that professors were just kind of like that. Sonia led him to a large building with a purple roof near Route 1 which Natural found himself wondering why he hadn’t taken a closer look at earlier.

Upon opening the door it became immediately apparent that there were some shenanigans being had in Sonia’s absence. Laughter and the tapping of hooves could be heard and Sonia noticeably became infuriated. She set her pokemon down and stormed inside, already raising her voice.

“Hop! What did I tell you about letting Dubwool out of his pokeball in the lab!?” Sonia began scolding.

Natural peered inside, finding a kid and a large sheep pokemon. The pokemon, Dubwool, had a trash can between its teeth and the kid, Hop, had several wadded up pieces of paper in his arms. From the looks of things he had been throwing the papers and Dubwool had been trying to catch them in the trash. Both looked incredibly guilty to have been caught in the act.

“Sorry! He was bored and wanted to watch me put away your stuff.”

“Uh-huh. ‘Watch’. Right. That is so not what is happening right now. And what is that you’re throwing away! It better not be research notes!”

The dog pokemon, seemingly wanting to make things worse, began barking and chasing Dubwool around the lab. Natural decided to lend it a hand while the two researchers squabbled. He approached the two pokemon and spoke softly to them, eventually putting a hand on both and petting them gently. They calmed down and followed him back over to where Sonia and Hop were finishing up their fussing.

“Anyway, Yamper found this guy who’s new to Galar so I invited him to have lunch with us.” Sonia explained at long last.

Dubwool stuck its head under Hop’s arm, demanding attention which it got in the form of distracted head rubs. “What? My bro dump you so you’re getting a new guy?”

Natural blinked, wondering where in the world that came from. Sonia on the other hand turned red and sputtered. “Wh-what?! Oh my Arceus, Hop! There are _so_ many things to unpack there!” she waved a hand dismissively. “You know what? Let’s just throw the whole suitcase out.”

“That’s not a no.” the kid shot her a cheeky smirk.

“You _know_ you’re wrong! Get back to work. We are _not_ talking about this anymore!” the woman shouted. She paused and motioned toward the sheep. “And put Dubwool back in his ball!”

Mercifully Hop did just as he was told. Yamper followed him as he sulked back over to a row of filing cabinets that sat half-open. Sonia groaned and ran a hand down her face.

“Sorry about him. Everything he just said is _completely_ untrue.” She muttered. “I’ve never even _dated_ Leon.”

So, this Hop kid was Leon’s brother? Natural could see the resemblance. He offered her a faint smile. “It’s alright. He was only joking.”

Sonia rolled her eyes. “I wish… I agreed to help Hop become a researcher. I didn’t expect him to be such a pain in the neck. Though really I should have expected it; Leon was a nuisance when he was that age.”

“You sound like you know Leon quite well.”

“I should! I’m his childhood friend. Ah, you know Leon is the former champion, right?” Natural nodded. “Okay good. Yeah, he and I did the whole gym challenge thing at the same time. We were rivals for a while. But… I haven’t had a serious pokemon battle in about seven years. These days I’m just a pokemon professor.”

With that, Sonia properly led Natural into her home. It was spacious, though a lot of that space was taken up by walls of bookcases and a large table covered in a little bit of everything. Hop was quietly going about his business of sorting through a huge box of papers. Yamper noticed the two wandering about and came over to see what his trainer and the stranger were doing, since Hop was proving to be rather boring now. The woman stepped into a little kitchenette that was kept surprisingly tidy compared to the rest of the place.

“Have a seat while I make us lunch and tell me about yourself.” Sonia told Natural.

The trainer pulled out a chair at the table and sat down. He watched the woman scurry around the kitchen gathering her ingredients and cooking utensils. It took a few moments, but she turned to look at him over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow.

“For someone who talks so fast, you sure aren’t doing a lot of it. Not used to talking about yourself?”

“Something like that…” he admitted.

Sonia hummed and got a pot of rice started. “In that case… Where are you from, exactly?”

“Unova. More specifically from north of the Pokemon League there.”

“Really? Unova! I’ve heard a lot about it. Is there really a theater where you dress up your pokemon and let them dance on stage to music?! I’ve always wanted to do something like that with Yamper.”

“Uh, yes. I do believe so. I’ve never been there personally. I think it’s in Nimbasa City.”

“Nimbasa… Nimbasa… Is that the big city or…?”

“You’re probably thinking of Castelia. But Nimbasa’s rather large too. There’s an amusement park I like to visit there.”

“You don’t strike me as the type who likes thrill rides.”

Natural paused before saying quietly, “I like the Ferris wheel.” That clearly piqued Sonia’s curiosity, as she looked over her shoulder at him again. Without prompting, he elaborated. “The circular motions, the mechanics, and the lights that spell out brilliant patterns in the night sky… Like a collection of formulas elegantly at work to make the whole thing a quiet, calming ride. A perfect place to get away and have a private conversation for a while.”

Sonia hummed softly. “You’ve been on this Ferris wheel, then?”

“Only once.”

“And yet you admire it so?”

“Yes.”

Debating with herself for a moment, the woman tried, “And did you get to have that private conversation?”

Natural lowered his gaze to the floor. “Yes…”

There was a short silence. Sonia finished cutting up her ingredients and scraped them into a pot of boiling water, beginning to cook up meat and veggies together. Hop passed by them, dropping his now-empty box on top of a pile of other empty boxes and picking up a full one from its stack. Yamper decided that what he was doing was, in fact, the more interesting thing to supervise and went to go bother him again rather than sit at his trainer’s feet.

“I take it it was a good conversation?”

“Hm?”

The woman flippantly waved the hand that wasn’t holding the spatula. “On the Ferris wheel. Judging by that little smile on your face, I take it that it was a good conversation?”

“I…was smiling?”

“Uh, yeah! You looked like you were remembering something nice.”

Natural couldn’t help but smile a little more. “Well…you aren’t wrong. I can’t say it was a good conversation, but it was an important one nonetheless.”

“I see. In that case, surely you want to ride the Ferris wheel with that person again sometime?”

Natural fell silent at that. Sonia looked back at him again. He was still contemplating the floor, but his smile had gone. Instead he looked…sad? No, perhaps that wasn’t quite the right word. Apprehensive, maybe. Or uneasy. But clearly upset. Sonia had seen looks like that before. She may be young, but she had a certain amount of experience. Especially since she was friends with some pretty thick-headed people.

“This person you rode with… What are they like?”

The trainer’s answer was immediate. “Incredible! A fierce trainer like I have never met before. Passionate about battling and raising pokemon. The kind of person you can’t help but root for even if they’re on the opposing side from you. Strong, determined, and so…” he breathed a little sigh. “ _So_ understanding. The sort of person that would fight for anyone, no matter who they were, if they thought that person had been wronged. Even if…even if you don’t see eye-to-eye with them at the time…”

Sonia couldn’t help the smirk that crossed her face. Oh yes, she knew that look. She knew that look all too well. And she also knew how oblivious its owner was to its existence. She killed the fire on the stove and dug out three plates and spoons. After divvying up the food she called to Hop that their lunch was ready. The kid put away the papers in his hand before rushing to the kitchen, Yamper on his heels.

“Sausage curry today.” The woman announced, placing their bowls on the table. Hop began wolfing down his share right away. She put a ladleful into Yamper’s food dish as well before taking a seat. “Don’t be shy, dig in. And there’s more if you want seconds.”

While they ate Sonia took it upon herself to tell Natural _everything_ about Galar. Or it sure seemed that way. The woman had much to say about each and every city and route in the region. Honestly N probably only retained a tenth of it all, even though he tried to pay attention. Hop rolled his eyes through most of her spiel, only adding things by way of specific pokemon he liked from the different places. What caught Natural’s interest the most, however, was the so-called Wild Area. He practically hung off every word that spilled from Sonia’s lips about it, and he just _knew_ that he was going to have to go there eventually.

She kept on talking even after they had each finished a second plate, or in Hop’s case a third, and Natural wasn’t about to stop her. Not when Sonia was clearly so passionate about what she was saying. Hop, on the other hand, was showing signs of boredom. He had already cleared off the table and washed all the dishes. He even dried them! Finally he decided to speak up.

“Hey so, you’re a trainer, right?!”

Natural blinked at him a few times, startled by his sudden outburst. “I… Technically speaking, yes, I am.”

“Then let’s-”

“OH!” Sonia cut him off, clapping her hands together in excitement. “You should try the gym challenge then!”

“Sonia, it’s the off season!” Hop complained. “It won’t start for another two months!”

Sonia waved him off. “How long are you staying for, Natural?”

“Well-”

“Seriously? You expect this guy to just hang around doing nothing for two months?”

“Not at all! He could spend that time getting to know the region and training up a team.”

“Really!” Natural exclaimed, getting up from his seat. “Thank you for the suggestion but I’m really not that kind of person. A pokemon battle here or there is fine, but I wouldn’t want to subject my friends to constant stress like that.”

His statement got a couple of awkward stares from the other two in the room. Even Yamper looked confused at what was going on. Sonia breathed a sigh and began twirling her hair again.

“Sorry. I wasn’t trying to force you into anything. But if you’re going to explore the region, which I assume you are…?” she got a nod in answer. “Then why not see what our gym leaders have to offer? You don’t have to do the gym challenge, just give them a quick battle if you’re in town.”

“It’s still the off season though…” Hop groaned, rubbing a hand over his face.

Sonia gave him a look. “You think anyone here is going to pass up the chance to have a practice match with a foreigner?”

“Um…yes?”

Again she waved him off. “Don’t listen to him, Natural. What do you say? I know most of the gym leaders pretty well. I can pull some strings for you. Want to give battling Galar’s best a little try?”

Natural had to think about that for a few moments. “I… Well, if you’re willing to give me such an opportunity, who am I to say no?”

Sonia clapped her hands again. “Perfect! In that case, why don’t you and Hop go outside and have a little warm-up match while I get everyone in on this plan?”

“Hey! I was about to challenge him anyway when you cut me off!” Hop complained.

“How about a one-on-one? I’m not particularly up for battling right now.”

The boy grinned mischievously. “Alright. Fine by me! Come on!”

Natural let him lead the way outside, Yamper following behind them. Sonia watched them before taking her phone out of her pocket. She opened up a group chat and sent a message.

 **ProfSonia:** You guys wanna do me a little favor?  
**DrownItOut:** Girl you know saying that only makes us anxious.  
**ProfSonia:** Oh I think you’ll like this…  
**RAWR!:** What’s happening?  
**ProfSonia:** So I ran into this guy today. A Unovan.  
**DrownItOut:** Okay? That’s cool, but what’s so special about that?  
**ProfSonia:** I’m getting there!  
**WoolooInAHayStack:** Is he a relative?  
**ProfSonia:** OMG YOU GUYS ARE THE _WORST!_ I’m _trying_ to get to that!  
**ProfSonia:** Do any of you watch the news…?

The sounds of a rampaging battle could be heard from outside, but Sonia didn’t look up from her phone. She grinned down at the chat as it exploded after she dropped a certain news article into it. It only took her a matter of minutes to have everything arranged to her liking. She thanked everyone and tucked her phone away, heading outside just in time to catch Natural and Hop exchanging a hand shake. From the cheeky grin on his face, it was evident that Hop had been victorious.

*****

“One-on-one eh? Any preference what kind of pokemon I use?” Hop asked, taking up his position on their make-shift field. Which just happened to be the road outside of the lab.

“Whichever you are most comfortable with.” Natural replied. “And I shall do the same.”

“Alright…” the boy chuckled. “If you say so.” He selected his pokeball and tossed it into the arena. “Let him have it, Zamazenta!”

Natural watched in complete awe as the large dog pokemon made its appearance, complete with turning the rusty shield upon its back into a large, elaborate piece of armor adorning its chest. “Your pokemon… It’s special. Isn’t it?”

Hop nodded with pride. “Sure is! It’s one of two very important pokemon. But I’m sure you’ll hear all about that from Raihan eventually.”

Natural couldn’t help the smirk that crossed his face and he lowered his head a little. “In that case, I don’t feel so bad about using _that_ pokemon…” He didn’t so much throw his pokeball into the ring as he gave it a light toss. The white dragon that came out roared and spread its wings, stretching after its rest in the ball.

The boy practically bounced with excitement. “Woah! What is that?!”

“This is Reshiram. My friend.”

“It’s so cool! Zamazenta, you better not lose to that! You hear me?!” His pokemon barked confidently.

“In that case, let’s start this. Reshiram! Fusion Flare!”

Reshiram’s tail glowed red with fire and it took to the air. Hop and Zamazenta watched as it gathered heat around its body before sending an enormous fireball plummeting toward the dog pokemon. Zamazenta took a hefty chunk of damage, as expected. But to Natural’s surprise it seemed to shake off the brunt of it. Hop gave a laugh, looking far too much like he knew something he wasn’t telling.

“Not bad. Did you guess Zamazenta’s type?”

“Judging by that shield, I assume it’s a steel type.” Natural replied.

“Yup! In this form it is! Heh, maybe I should have left the shield off. No matter though…” Hop couldn’t stop his smiling even if he wanted to. “Reshiram is clearly a dragon. Which means…PLAY ROUGH!”

The dog pokemon charged, all fangs and claws despite its defensive appearance. Reshiram let out a pained cry, getting knocked to the ground by the blow. Natural looked on in disbelief, bewildered by the fact that his legendary dragon had been nearly wiped out in one hit. Already knowing how this was going to turn out, Natural ordered another fusion flare. Zamazenta staggered a little, having been brought down below half-health. But of course it all came to an end with another attack. Natural quickly recalled his pokemon before it could hit the ground, bringing the pokeball up his face and laying his cheek against it apologetically.

“I am sorry, my friend, for putting you up to that so soon after recovering.” He murmured to it. “Thank you for trying. You may rest properly now.”

Zamazenta had put away its shield and Hop was enthusiastically rubbing its ears and chin, thanking it for the good battle. It licked his face lovingly. Natural couldn’t help but smile at the scene. At least he had been beaten by somebody who clearly loved his pokemon, and whose pokemon obviously adored him. It made the loss much easier to bear.

“What sort of move was that?” Natural asked him after Hop had returned his pokemon.

“Huh? Play Rough?”

“I’ve never heard of it.”

“You…haven’t? It’s not really anything special. It’s a fairy-type move.”

“Fairy…?”

“Yeah! You know, strong against dark-types, fighting-types, and dragons. Not so good with poison and steel though.”

“I’ve never encountered a pokemon or a move of that sort before. To my knowledge, there are no fairy-types in Unova.”

“Aren’t…aren’t cottonee native to there?” Hop asked, bewildered.

“But they are only grass-types.”

“No…” the kid said slowly. “They’re grass-fairies. And I’m pretty sure that’s not just a Galarian thing.”

The two stared at each other for a long moment, both equally puzzled. Eventually Hop just breathed a sigh and shrugged. “Anyway, I guess that was your rude awakening to how awesome fairy-types are! Even though Zamazenta’s half-fighting. Now its ‘sister’…” he shook his head. “Here in Galar we finish matches by shaking hands with our opponent.” He held his out. “Good match, Natural!”

The trainer couldn’t help but smile back at him and shook his hand. “Good match, Hop.”

In that moment Sonia stepped outside to join them. “Aw, did I miss it all?” she half-joked.

“Yup! You were late!” Hop declared.

“Too bad, so sad.” She laughed. “So listen to this, the gym leaders are all working on getting ready for the next Gym Challenge. They’re _pretty_ busy right now. Buuuut they’ve all agreed that if you just _happen_ to swing by their gyms, they’ll have a little practice match with you!” She told Natural.

“Thank you, Sonia. In that case, I will take you and them up on the offer. I plan to be in Galar a while, I may as well see all of the sights. Your gym leaders and their talents included.”

“Perfect!” Sonia shouted, punching the air. “Are you staying for dinner or do you want to head out?”

“I’ve not overstayed my welcome already?”

“Nonsense. In fact, I kind of insist you spend the night. There’s a few things I want to catch you up on so you’ll be nice and prepared. Oh and! Hop! You know that old camping equipment of mine? Be a dear and dig it out of storage for me, will you?”

The boy groaned. “You sound like an old lady when you say that…”

“Oh shut it! Go get that stuff for me!”

Hop groaned again but went to do as he was told. Sonia, on the other hand, brought Natural back inside as she once again went off on a tirade of information.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is indeed weird for me to write his name as Natural instead of N. X'D It's not just you who might find it weird to read. Also if you've questions, chances are they'll be answered in chapters to come. But do feel free to ask any! I know I left a lot of things kind of ambiguous in this first chapter!
> 
> I'm aware Hop might be a little OOC. I blame puberty.  
> No but really, I was going for more of an annoying little sibling and older sister vibe between him and Sonia. Like Hop's a good kid but I imagine he can be bit cheeky with somebody who's basically family to him.


	2. Friends Both Old and New

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natural makes some new pokemon friends and discovers the Wild Area.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup. It is still weird to call him Natural instead of N. Just thought you should know that.
> 
> Also this chapter is shorter than the first, but I think from here on things should get more interesting.

The train ride from Wedgehurst was peaceful. Despite Unova being known for having a number of subway lines, Natural had never had the chance to ride a train before. Sonia had ushered him on board late that morning after breakfast…and after loading him down with a huge bag full of camping supplies. Some of which she discovered were no longer in usable shape and she insisted on replacing for him. Did he mention that he got dragged around Wedgehurst to shop for things? To be honest, the morning had been a little chaotic.

Nonetheless, he relaxed and watched the world go by from his seat. In his hand he fiddled with a brand new phone that the woman forced upon him while they were out. She had realized she had no way of contacting him and asked for his phone number. When she had learned that the only way he had to keep in touch with others was an xtransceiver, and an older model at that, she flipped out. Natural hadn’t caught all of her rant but she immediately ushered him into an electronics store on the grounds that he “ _needed_ a phone to survive”. Honestly Natural didn’t really care. His xtransceiver could have done the job just fine. But Sonia had thrust the lime green phone into his hand before he had had a chance to object.

There _was_ one little problem with the phone, however. And that was the fact that it was, what Sonia and Hop had called, a rotom phone. Which meant that living inside and helping to operate the device was a pokemon. Apparently this was a common thing among Galarian communication devices, as both researchers had them, as well as the PC located in the Pokemon Center.

Natural gazed down at the curious stare looking up at him from the back of his phone. The rotom was no doubt curious about its new owner and he didn’t really know what to make of that. Casting a look around the train, a number of other people had their own phones out and at least half of them had the distinct face of a rotom upon them. Natural would be lying if he were to say that he felt comfortable with it. Sure, for all he knew the rotoms enjoyed their odd livelihood. But for himself he just couldn’t imagine living life caged up in an object that could fit in a pocket with no contact with the outside world except when its owner decided to bring it out.

Really, it was no different from the way he felt about keeping pokemon in balls.

With this thought in mind, he lifted the phone up a little bit and spoke directly to the rotom inhabiting it. “Hello there. Sorry it took so long to introduce myself. Today has been…interesting. As I’m sure you noticed. My name is N…Natural.”

The rotom’s expression brightened up and the phone made a quiet chirping noise. Seeing the expectant look on the pokemon’s face he turned it over and took a look at the screen. The clever little pokemon had pulled up a note-taking app that had been preinstalled and had typed out a response.

_“Hello Natural! It is nice to meet you! You are my new owner, yes?”_

Turning it back over, he replied, “I… Yes. I own the phone you’re in.”

Again, the phone chimed. Another message was beneath the first.

_“New owner! New owner! Yay!”_

Natural couldn’t help but grimace. Turning the phone to look the rotom in the eye again, he stated, “Please do not call me that. I am a trainer. So if anything, I am your _trainer_.” He didn’t particularly like that, either, but it was better than being called “owner”.

Another chime. _“Trainer! Trainer! Hello Trainer Natural!”_

He turned it back over. “Yes. Hello. Is there a name I should call you?”

Chime. _“You do not have to keep turning me over like that. I can see you through the front camera, too! I do not have a name. You may give me one, if you wish. You are my Trainer Natural after all!”_

Okay, the whole “Trainer Natural” being said in such a seemingly enthusiastic manner was kind of cute, he had to admit. Though it was both unnerving and relieving that the rotom could see him even if he wasn’t looking at its face.

“Would you like to have a name?”

_“If Trainer Natural would like to give me one.”_

Natural shook his head. “That’s not what I asked. Do you _want_ a name?”

There was a pause. Taking a peek at the pokemon’s face, Natural found it looking thoughtful. Finally, after about a minute of waiting, it chimed again.

_“I…would like one. Yes.”_

Now the trainer smiled. “Is there a particular name that you like?”

Another pause. Another minute of waiting before he got a response.

_“…Fern…”_

Natural’s smile broadened and he gave a little nod. “Fern it is, then. Nice to meet you, Fern.”

It took him a moment to figure out that the response he got was a face.

 _“(⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄_ _✿⁄)⁄”_

Seeing how happy the rotom was, he decided to talk to it a little more. "I haven't had a chance to look at all of the features on this phone. Are there any that you think are useful?"

_"Yes, many! Um… But explaining it all this way might be difficult. There is a built in text-to-speech function. May I use it?"_

Natural was taken aback by that. The rotom, Fern, had a way to speak but hadn't immediately used it? In fact, it had to ask him?! Just what kinds of needless things were these phone rotoms trained?!?

"Of course. Use it whenever you please."

It took a moment, but Natural watched as Fern dug into the settings and turned the feature on. The first thing he heard upon the activation was a robotic, exaggerated "ahem!"

"Testing! Testing! One, two, three! Can you hear me, Trainer Natural?"

He smiled. "Loud and clear."

"Alright! Allow me to tell you aaaall about the various features I have for you!"

Aside from making calls, it could do practically anything he could ever want. It had a map of Galar, complete with a live feed of pokemon that had been recently sighted in each area. Internet access with a full web browser. Various apps for chatting with other people. A few games. And Sonia had even snuck on the latest version of the pokedex when she had put in her number. Speaking of numbers, Fern walked him through syncing his contacts on his xtransceiver with the phone. Natural wasn’t quite sure how to feel about the three new names that were now displayed alongside Sonia’s and Hop’s. Anthea, Concordia, and…

On top of everything, Fern was even able to explain another device that Sonia had gifted him. While Natural hadn't been intending to catch many pokemon, if any, he was fascinated by the Pokemon Box's capabilities. He'd never seen a machine the size of a small coffee maker that could remotely send and retrieve pokeballs from the PC Storage System. And of course, Fern had an app to connect to and control it even better.

In other words, Natural understood why Sonia had been so adamant about him getting a phone.

A voice over the train's intercom announced that the Wild Area Station was coming up. Natural took that as his cue to gather up everything that Sonia had dumped on him before he left Wedgehurst. To do so he set his phone down on the empty seat beside him. When he looked up, he was surprised to find Fern was floating beside him, watching what he was doing. He couldn’t help but smile at it. He took the phone back into his hand and let the rotom know that he would be putting it into his pocket for now. Fern replied that it was okay with this. It made him feel marginally less bad about doing so.

The station didn’t look too terribly different from the one in Wedgehurst. Natural spent little time looking around it as a result, but he did notice a couple of trainers in the corner whispering about their pikachu and eevee. Letting them alone, he made his way outside.

Immediately he understood the name “Wild Area”. What stood before him was a vast expanse of fields, groves, and lakes the likes of which he hadn’t seen in a very long time. Without even stepping passed the fence between the station and the fields he could already see a wide array of pokemon all over the place happily going about their own business. A few trainers could be seen here and there, including two that got off the train with him, but there was more than enough space for each of them to do their own thing.

More than a little excited just at the prospect of it all, Natural made his way beyond the fence.

Pokemon, after pokemon, after pokemon. Again and again Natural was amazed by all the different kinds he spotted just by wandering about. Some he knew, as they were native to Unova. But most of them he had never seen before. He found himself roaming everywhere that he could, simply taking in the abundance of it all. Before he knew it, midday was upon him and he, with some reluctance, decided it was time to find a place to sit and rest.

Natural didn’t want to draw attention to himself or his pokemon, so he found a quiet little corner near a grove of trees to stop at. Despite the shade and the warm weather there were no other trainers around. Feeling safe enough, he released every pokemon he had from Reshiram to the little blipbug from their balls. Reshiram stretched its wings and yawned, having just woken from its slumber. The others shared the sentiment and went about stretching their limbs as well. Lastly, Natural pulled his phone from his pocket and Fern float about as it pleased, and it made quick work of saying hello to the others.

Blipbug looked around him, at all the unusual and fully evolved pokemon that were now his companions. Natural watched him with half an eye as he dug into his supplies to find the cooking tools Sonia had lent him. He wasn’t a great cook, if he was honest, but he could at least bang a meal together with some berries and other things that he had gotten before leaving Wedgehurst. As he cooked, his other pokemon greeted their new little friend, and it wasn’t long before Blipbug was squealing with delight as Archeops repeatedly grabbed him, tossed him into the air, and then caught him. Zoroark and Fern gave chase, keeping up with them as they played. Reshiram, Vanilluxe, Klinklang, and Carracosta preferred to stay behind and watch.

The food that Natural managed to whip up was more-or-less a vegetable soup that he added a few chunks of pan-fried meat to only in the dishes his more carnivorous pokemon would be eating from. A quick word was all it took for Archeops to catch Blipbug one last time and to bring him back to the little camp, Zoroark and Fern right behind him. To Natural’s complete surprise, it took some coaxing for Fern to leave the phone and join in the meal. It tried to insist that it only required sustenance when its charge was getting low. Natural, of course, was having none of that and explained it wasn’t fair that Fern only watch everyone eat. So, despite its protests that it still had 82% charge, Fern left the phone and ate its share.

During cleanup, Carracosta and Reshiram lent their abilities. As such washing and drying everything was a cinch. Fern returned to its place in the phone, and Blipbug continued to play with the others. Deciding that he was in no hurry, Natural allowed his pokemon to enjoy themselves while he investigated the grove a little more. The trees there bore fruits of all kinds, and the soil around them mushrooms. Of course, Natural took the chance to gather a bunch of them up.

A scream was heard from the sky and for a brief moment Natural couldn’t help but think how weird that sounded for Blipbug. In the same moment he realized the sound hadn’t come from his new pokemon at all, but from something else above him. He barely had time to shield his eyes and look up than something struck him over the head and fell to the ground. Groaning in pain, Natural noticed a huge bird pokemon flying away disgruntled. He glanced down at the ground, curious what had hit him, and found…a green apple?

Something seemed odd about it, though, and he crouched down to inspect it. Looking closely, it appeared to be shaking. The leaves protruding from the top didn’t look right either. In fact, they almost looked like they had eyes on them. Squeezed closed in fear. And was that a tail…?

“A…pokemon?” he wondered aloud.

Fern was beside him in an instant and pulled up the pokedex app for him. She read the entry aloud for him. “Applin, the Apple Core pokemon! As soon as it's born, it burrows into an apple. It spends its entire life inside an apple. It hides from its natural enemies, bird Pokémon, by pretending it's just an apple and nothing more. Not only does the apple serve as its food source, but the flavor of the fruit determines its evolution.”

“Applin, huh?” he glanced up at the sky again, not seeing any sign of the bird pokemon. “That bird must have had a keen eye to tell it apart from any other apple…”

The little pokemon quivered at the mention of the pokemon that had dropped it. Taking pity on the terrified little thing, Natural quickly retrieved a few oran berries from his bag and brought them over to it. He set one in front of it and waited. The applin’s eyes opened and it seemed to sniff at the berry. It glanced at Natural and Fern, then back at the berry. Finally, it turned around and picked up the berry with its tail, pulling it into the apple that housed it. Natural heard little crunching noises and assumed it was eating what he’d offered. He set two more berries down and it readily accepted his offering again once it had finished the first.

By this point his other pokemon had taken notice of it and had come over to investigate. After it had finished eating the applin realized it had been surrounded and jumped back in fright. It bonked into Blipbug in doing so, causing them both to fall over. The applin appeared apologetic as soon as it realized what it had done, and it and the other small pokemon seemed to have a quick little chat with one another. With Blipbug’s help, the applin found the courage to move toward Natural again in order to thank him for the berries.

“You look exhausted, Applin. Would you tell me what happened to you?”

The pokemon’s eyes became downcast, but it explained everything all the same. That morning it had been captured by a trainer, who then tried to give it to somebody else. That somebody else rejected them, and the trainer became upset. The applin had been confused, but didn’t want its new trainer to be sad. But then the trainer had taken it back to the place where it had been caught and released it without a word. The applin had tried to follow the trainer, but it was too slow to keep up. Then something called a corviknight had swooped down and grabbed it. The applin had screamed and struggled, and finally got free, only to end up bonking Natural on the head on its way down. The poor little pokemon still appeared confused over the whole ordeal and on the verge of tears as it recalling its horrible morning.

Immediately Natural felt several things. Anger at the trainer for abandoning the pokemon so suddenly. Pity for the pokemon as it had no idea what had happened, and then to nearly become bird food. As well as a sting of guilt as he thought about the pokemon he himself had released before. He tried to rationalize it to himself that he had taken the time to explain to those pokemon that he had never intended to keep them even before catching them. But just now he had to wonder if any of those pokemon had been left in a similar state to this applin.

“Applin, if it isn’t too much for you, would you like to come along with me?” A look of trepidation crossed its eyes. “I… I must admit, I have a track record for releasing pokemon. But if you wish to stay with me, I promise that I won’t.” he looked around at the six pokemon he had brought with him to Galar. “You may stay here, of course, but if you wish to have a trainer that won’t abandon you, well…just ask these guys.”

The pokemon contemplated this offer for a moment, looking at the other pokemon in consideration. Zoroark leaned forward and licked it, tail waving in the air expectantly. At last the applin took a deep breath and inched closer to Natural. The trainer set a pokeball onto the ground and waited. Just like what happened with Blipbug, it went inside of its own accord. As soon as the ball clicked Natural picked it up and released the pokemon back onto his hand. Immediately she smiled up at him and began to try to climb his arm. Before she could get very far, Zoroark stood up again and picked her up, plopping her on top of Natural’s head where she was attempting to get to.

Deciding that they had all spent enough time relaxing, Natural recalled his other pokemon but Blipbug. He gathered up his belongings and picked the bug pokemon up into his arms to carry him. Fern decided to follow him, and just like that he began heading deeper into the Wild Area with his three new friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, N hasn't quite realized that the applin is shiny yet. He knows about shinies, of course, but he's kind of under the impression that it's just a gender or forme difference. He didn't exactly take a look at the pokedex page that Fern read out for him.


	3. Dynamax and Gigantamax

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natural learns a thing or two about Galar's main gimmick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol oops it's been months since I last worked on this. Not gonna lie, it was Piers's part in Twilight Wings episode 7 that drove me to work on this again.
> 
> Why would 2 seconds of Piers getting love make me want to write this fic about N? Perhaps one day you'll know. Maybe. If I don't lose the momentum before then...
> 
> ANYWHO! Enjoy!

The journey through the Wild Area turned out rather different than Natural had expected it to be. The sheer vastness of the place threatened to make his head spin. Being alone and outdoors was nothing new to him, but he had never seen a place like this. Eventually the trainer population thinned out and it was just him, his pokemon, and the wilds. And it remained that way for three days straight.

In that time Natural had gotten to know a wide variety of new pokemon. While he hadn’t captured any, he’d stopped and conversed or battled with fifty or more different kinds. As he had gathered a huge variety of berries from the trees that dotted the area, when he cooked for his pokemon he made extra for the wild ones around him too. And when he defeated one in battle he took care to nurse it back to health. It was because of this that by the time he could see a city, Motostoke by the looks of the map that Fern had shown him, that the pokemon of the Wild Area all seemed to greet him cheerfully even if they had never met him.

Human or pokemon, gossip was always something that would spread rapidly.

On his last night in the Wild Area Natural couldn’t help but take notice of a red beacon of light off in the distance. He’d seen them before, both during the day and at night. Usually they were red, sometimes pinkish-purple. But they were never close enough for him to choose to investigate. This one, however, didn’t look to be far from where he was thinking of setting up camp. He decided that it was time to settle his curiosity.

Following the light led him to a strange formation on the ground. What looked like a handful of oddly shaped rocks that were only about knee-height protruded from the ground. They glowed an other-worldly red and the beacon of light erupted from their center. As Natural approached to take a closer look Fern floating around him, primed and ready with information.

“Trainer Natural! Trainer Natural!” she called to him excitedly. “This is a pokemon den!”

“A pokemon den…?” the trainer cautiously peered into the center of the formation. A hot breeze wisped its way up from what looked to be a deep, dark hole. Despite the creepiness of it all, Natural found it odd that he wasn’t too unsettled by any of it.

“Yes! It’s connected to a phenomenon here in Galar known as Dynamax. The dens are home to pokemon that have been Dynamaxed by unusual means. Up to four trainers and four pokemon can enter a den and battle these pokemon.”

Natural looked around him. There wasn’t another trainer anywhere in sight. “Can a trainer go in alone?”

“Yep!”

“Could I use four pokemon by myself?”

“That is not advisable. Please only use one.”

The trainer contemplated the hole for a moment. “Is there any way to know what’s down there?”

“Now scanning the energy given off the by beacon!” Fern announced. It floated around the den a couple of times, making a few Scientific sounding clicks and beeps as it did. At last it came to a stop in front of Natural and displayed the tiny bit of information that it could. “The pokemon is a dark- and flying-type. It isn’t very strong. I don’t know what it is, exactly, but I was able to determine its shape. Please take a look, Trainer Natural.”

He peered at the screen and was surprised to find the silhouette presented to him familiar. “A vullaby… Those are native to Unova.” He murmured to himself. “Bringing Blipbug would be a bad idea, even if it’s apparently weak. Applin too wouldn’t be a good choice. And the rest of my pokemon would be an unfair advantage…”

Fern bounced around in front of him. “Trainer Natural! Do not forget, I am a pokemon, too!”

Natural smiled at it. “Oh? You mean you want to battle it?”

“If Trainer Natural doesn’t want to use his other pokemon, I would be glad to lend my strength! Although… I’m not very strong either.” It paused for a moment before adding softly, “I was trained to operate this phone. Not for battling.”

Natural gently took the phone into his hand. “That’s alright. I don’t much like battling, but I could still show you how.”

“Yes! Yes! Please show me!”

Nervously, Natural jumped into the hole.

The fall was long. Too long. Yet he landed softly on his feet. Glancing around all that he could see was red earth and a wild storm brewing far above his head. Before him stood the largest vullaby he had ever seen before. It was as large as mountain, its head just shy of the wild winds above them. Before Natural had time to think about what he was going to do against it, Fern got his attention by calling his name again.

“I am leaving your phone open with information about my known attacks. Please refer to it.”

Just like that, Fern leapt out from the device and floated before him. He took a quick look at what moves it knew before pocketing the phone so that he could focus on the battle.

Leading the battle with Double Team, Natural and Fern were nearly blown over by the vullaby’s attack. Having never seen an attack like that his first instinct was to ask what had just happened. But Natural caught himself before he could and remembered that at the moment Fern could not speak to him as it normally would. Instead he had it use Confuse Ray. The status move paid off and vullaby ended up hurting itself.

From there it wasn’t a difficult first battle for the rotom at all. A three thunder shocks, dodging another huge blast of air, and another self-inflicted injury had the vullaby down. Fern quickly returned to the phone in order to shout for Natural to throw a pokeball at the weakened pokemon in front of him.

But he didn’t. In a short few seconds the vullaby had recovered and immediately ran away from him. The storm above them raged, and before Natural knew it he was thrust back out of the den. He found himself standing back outside, the night air much cooler than he had remembered it being after the den had been so very warm. The den was no longer glowing at all, and scattered about his feet were several items that he was _certain_ had not been there before.

As he stooped down to investigate them Fern pulled itself gently from his hand and made a sound like it was clearing its throat. “Unfortunately pokemon do not gain experience from participating in pokemon den battles.” It stated. “But when the pokemon in the den is defeated it drops a bunch of useful items!”

Berries, something that appeared to be a black TM, and a few blue candy-like things. Those were the spoils of Natural’s first ever battle in a den. Fern brought up a picture of the candies.

“Those are called Exp. Candy XSs! Oh! And there’s a regular S there too! If you feed them to a pokemon it’ll gain a little experience!”

“Interesting…” Natural muttered. “Do you want them?”

“That’s for you to decide, Trainer Natural.”

“Fern, please. You did so well by expressing your desire to battle just earlier.” The trainer admonished gently.

Fern hesitated. “I’d… I’d like the small one…please.”

“Not the extra-smalls?”

“I think you should save those for somebody else. You never know. They could come in handy.”

With a smile, Natural presented the small candy to Fern. It left his phone momentarily, just long enough to gobble it up. Fern thanked him and the two went to find the spot that Natural had thought about setting up camp at not too long ago.

*****

Afternoon in Motostoke was a level of hustle and bustle that Natural had come to be familiar with. Nobody noticed him as he walked along the streets. For once, it was a welcome change. Here in Galar nobody knew of him. He was just another trainer. Sonia had assured him that the gym leaders would accept a battle from him if he asked them for one. And while Natural hadn’t really put much thought into doing that he still found himself standing outside of what was undoubtedly Motostoke’s gym.

The place was far more grandiose than any in Galar. It looked more like sports stadium disguised as a castle to fit in with some of the aesthetic of the city. The place was nearly empty when he decided to step inside to take a quick peek. Only a lone receptionist, who clearly had nothing to do by the way she was looking at her phone, was present in the brightly lit hall that greeted him.

“The stadium is off limits to the public today. Leader Kabu is training.” The woman said, not even looking up from her device.

Natural hesitated. Sonia had said it was the off season, whatever that meant, but she hadn’t told him what he should say or do to get the chance to battle the leaders. His standing there caught the receptionist’s attention and she sighed and finally looked up at him.

“Do you have some business here?”

“I want to see the gym leader.”

The woman raised an eyebrow at him. “Sorry. Paparazzi aren’t allowed to observe his personal training.”

“I’m not paparazzi.”

She looked him up and down, although her bored expression didn’t change one bit. “Look kid, I don’t make the rules. Please leave before I have to call security…”

Unsure what else to do, Natural left the building. He sat by one of the fountains outside and fumbled with his phone. The only thing he could think to do was call Sonia. She was the one who had made the suggestion, so surely she had a way to help him out. The young professor picked up after a few rings.

“Hey there Natural! How’s it going? You doing okay?” she asked, sounding as cheerful as ever.

“I’m alright. I’ve just made it to Motostoke.” Natural couldn’t help but smile back at her.

“Really?! Hm… I’m not sure whether to think that was fast or slow… Anyway, what’s up? Just wanted to talk? I’d _love_ to hear about what you’ve been up to.”

“Perhaps another time. Right now I have a favor to ask.”

“Another one?”

“It’s related to one you’ve already done. I went to the gym but the receptionist won’t let me see…Kabu, I believe his name was.”

Sonia turned her head to say something to somebody off-camera, presumably Hop. After a moment she returned her attention to him. “I thought that might happen. Say, gimme a smile real quick like.” Puzzled, Natural did his best to comply with her request. She giggled and he heard the soft sound of a camera shutter. “Thank you! I took a screenshot of you. I’m going to send it to Kabu now. You’re near the stadium aren’t you?”

“I am, yes.”

“There should be an inn next door. Go book yourself a room if you can and freshen up. I’ve been through the Wild Area. I know how gross you can get out there. By the time you’re all done you should be able to get in to see Kabu no problem!”

“Thank you again, Sonia.”

“Don’t mention it. But really, give me a call and tell me what you’ve seen when you have a chance. I don’t want you to think you’re a stranger!”

“I will.”

She gave him a little wave and his screen went dark as the call ended. Getting up from his seat, Natural sought out the inn. It wasn’t hard to find at all. Like Sonia had said it was right next door to the stadium. The people at the front desk were pleasant despite his lowly appearance and the upscale interior dictating that the place was probably frequented by the well-off. He was even more surprised to find that a room for a night was well within his budget. As he made his way to his room he had to wonder if the place was associated with the stadium in some way.

After showering, changing his clothes, and asking hotel staff to wash his dirty outfits, Natural decided that enough time had passed that he should try the stadium again. It was a short walk back there and again the receptionist appeared rather bored at her desk. She did, however, glance up from her phone and immediately sat up straight.

“I-I’m terribly sorry, sir!” She nearly shouted. “I didn’t realize Leader Kabu was waiting for you!”

Natural approached her, trying to smile so as to reassure her. “It’s alright. I don’t think you would have believed me even if I had said that was the case.”

The woman motioned to the doors beside her desk. “Please go on inside. You’ll have to pass through the challenge arena, but it’s a straight shot to the pitch. Leader Kabu will be there.”

“Thank you.”

Natural followed her instructions, going through the double-doors. He took a moment to take in the challenge arena as he passed through it. There were patches of grass and what appeared to be a scoreboard standing in the middle of them. Try as he might, Natural couldn’t picture what it might all be used for. He continued on and eventually made his way through another set of doors.

He was now in a short hallway that had a couple of doors on either side. Two of them stood open and, peering inside, he found them to be locker rooms. Deciding better than to go snooping he kept walking and made another turn. The sounds of battle hit him instantly. The sight of grass was ahead of him and he picked up his pace just a little.

The pitch was enormous. It was surrounded by stadium seating and the grass had clearly been marked out for pokemon battles. Natural was about to wonder why the place needed to be so large when a blast of fire shook the stadium.

The pokemon that were battling were a lizard and the biggest centipede that he had ever seen! Long and twisting, with fire emitting from its face and tail.

_“Dynamax…”_ he found himself thinking as he took in the gigantic bug pokemon. The battle had obviously been going on but the lizard that the other trainer had been using stood no chance against its next attack. Both pokemon were called back to their balls and the bug pokemon’s trainer took a deep, calming breath.

“You are getting stronger. Keep training, Chaka.”

“Thank you, Kabu!”

No sooner had the trainer gone to join two others who had been watching than did the gym leader notice that they had company. The man proceeded to jog over to meet Natural.

“So you’re the lad Sonia was talking about.” He stated. “My name is Kabu. I am the third gym leader of the Galar region.” He held out his hand.

“I am Natural.” The trainer replied, shaking his hand. “Sorry to interrupt your training.”

“Do not be. I have been looking forward to meeting you. Sonia was very excited when she told us about you. I do not know the full story, nor do I care to know. But I am curious as to why you wish to battle us gym leaders.”

Natural frowned. “If… If I may be honest I don’t want to battle you. I am a pokemon trainer, but battling is not what I came here to Galar to do.”

Kabu stared at him quizzically, but said nothing.

“I’m… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come all the way here and bothered you without wanting to battle. I simply thought I would come here because Sonia said I should. Really though I would rather return to the Wild Area and spend my time with the pokemon there.”

Kabu closed his eyes for a moment, clearly pondering something. When he opened them again his entire being appeared to be burning with resolve. “I won’t force you to do anything you do not want. I still have one more gym trainer to battle with for today. Why don’t you take a seat by the wayside, lad. Watch us while we battle. After which you may leave if you would like.”

Thinking he had nothing better to do, Natural took a seat on a bench to one side of the pitch. One of the gym trainers stepped forward to do their battle with Kabu while the other two remained a few feet away from where Natural sat. Without any fanfare the two trainers on the pitch released their pokemon and their battle began.

Watching them was interesting, even Natural couldn’t deny it. The trainer had a salandit like the previous one did. Kabu used his centiskorch again. After a couple of turns of trading fire-type moves, Kabu recalled his pokemon. To Natural’s shock the pokeball grew larger in his hand and he threw it again. This time when the pokemon appeared it took on its huge form yet again.

“Man, Kabu’s gigantamax centiskorch is scary even when you’re not the one fighting it…” one of the gym trainers, Chaka, murmured to the other.

“Tell me about it… But that’s why he’s the gym leader.”

Gigantamax… Despite not wanting to miss the battle Natural took out his phone and quickly typed his question out on a note for Fern to answer for him. The rotom came through, typing out its response in seconds.

_“Dynamx is the phenomenon of pokemon growing to many times their original size. Some pokemon change their shape when they Dynamax, and we call this Gigantamax. Not all species of pokemon can Gigantamax, and not all pokemon of a Gigantamax-able species can do it either. It is a very special sort._

_Is this answer satisfactory, Trainer Natural?”_

“Yes, thank you.” The trainer whispered before putting his phone away just in time to catch the final blow of the match.

So… Kabu had a special kind of pokemon? Loathe as he was to admit it but Natural felt himself wanting to try a battle with something like that. He watched as Kabu called his pokemon back into its ball and said a few words to his gym trainer. The two of them approached the benches where N and the other trainers were waiting.

“Now then, Natural. Do you still not want to battle?”

The trainer hesitated. But he smiled and got to his feet. “I’ve decided I will battle you after all.”

Kabu, despite his face not changing much, looked like he was pleased to hear that. “My gym centiskorch is tired. Would you mind if I used my personal one instead?” The disheartened feeling Natural felt must have shown on his face, as Kabu was quick to add, “It too can gigantamax.”

So Kabu had two of those special kinds of pokemon? Well, that was all the more reason to want to battle him!

“That’s fine!”

Natural felt the gym trainers’ eyes on him as he stepped out onto the pitch with the gym leader. He’d never done too well with having an audience, much preferring a battle in privacy. Not that he had ever truly been alone for most of the battles he had ever had. He tried to ignore the awaiting stares on him as he decided on his pokemon for the battle.

Kabu released another centiskorch. Thinking about what type it must be Natural chose his pokeball and released Carracosta. He could tell that his pokemon wasn’t one the four other people in the stadium were used to seeing. The gym trainers were whispering amongst each other and Kabu himself looked interested.

Immediately Kabu recalled his pokemon in order to gigantamax it. Natural tried not to let the new size and form intimidate him, but he still was not used to pokemon being that large. Centiskorch’s max overgrowth hit Carracosta, hard. But so did Carracosta’s stone edge. Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to stand another hit from Centiskorch, Natural commanded his pokemon to use aqua jet. It did good damage, nearly dropping his foe’s health to zero. But Centiskorch hung on and decimated Carracosta with its next max overgrowth.

Both trainers recalled their pokemon and Natural breathed out a slow breath. So this was the strength of a Galar gym leader? Sure, it was obvious that Kabu used different pokemon in gym battles compared to what he trained for himself. But that he had a pokemon so strong was still astounding. Kabu was approaching him, as were the gym trainers, and Natural quickly composed himself.

“Sonia had said you were not from Galar, and I think that much was obvious by your pokemon.” The gym leader said. If Natural didn’t know better he would have thought the man was smiling. “I come from Hoenn, you know. I’m more than aware of how frightening Galar’s dynamax pokemon can be. Yet you did well to battle it regardless.”

“So you’re an outsider? I see… Tell me, how do you do that? Dynamax, I mean.”

Kabu gestured to the band on his wrist. “It is still being researched how it all happens, exactly, but these special bands let us harness the energy from Power Spots to dynamax them. Most of the Stadiums in Galar are built upon Power Spots, and you can find them all over the Wild Area as well.” He paused. “It is a shame that Sonia could not get you one. It may be hard to battle the other gym leaders without one.”

Natural shook his head. “Even if I had one, I don’t know if I would be willing to do that to my pokemon.”

The man gazed at him curiously, then chuckled. There was no mistaking it. This time Kabu really was smiling.

“Alright! Training is over for today!” he announced. “I want you all to run five laps around the pitch with me!” He nodded at Natural. “You too, lad. It is important for a trainer to train just as hard as their pokemon!”

With that he took off at a jog, his gym trainers following right behind him. For a second Natural was confused but he ran after them regardless. The first half of the run was fine, as most trainers were decently fit themselves. But Natural was still a scrawny guy in the grand scheme of things and by the end of the run was left panting and breathless from trying to keep up with Kabu’s pace. While he was bent over, hands on his knees and gasping for breath, the gym leader dismissed his trainers back to the locker rooms. Natural only looked up again when a bottle of water was held out in front of him. He took it gratefully and drank down several large gulps.

“A boy like you should be striving to be as fast as you talk.” Kabu remarked.

“I’ve never been so good at physical activity.” The trainer replied. “I prefer mind-over-matter.”

The gym leader chuckled again. “You sound like the psychic twins of Moss Deep City.”

“I don’t believe I’m psychic. But I can talk to pokemon.” When Kabu quirked an eyebrow at him, he said, “Let out your centiskorch. I’ll show you.”

Curious, Kabu did just that. His centiskorch shook himself, still tired from the battle. Natural approached him and pet his head gently. The centiskorch turned his head into the touch, seemingly enjoying it. Natural dug a hyper potion from his pocket along with a leppa berry. The pokemon ate the berry from his hand and then held still while Natural began to apply the potion.

“Your pokemon is very sweet.” Natural stated. “He enjoys battling for you. And he wishes he were stronger so that you could show more of your strength to the world.”

“You can tell that much?”

Natural nodded. “Pokemon often say more than most people hear. But I can hear them. I can hear the voices of pokemon’s hearts.”

There was a moment of silence while Natural finished making sure that the centiskorch was completely healed. It was Kabu who broke it by placing a hand on Natural’s shoulder, which startled the trainer some.

“It’s a shame you aren’t doing the Gym Challenge for real.” The gym leader stated, smiling up at him. “A kind heart like yours could take you real far in a place like Galar.”

Somehow, those words made butterflies in Natural’s stomach. He didn’t care to be the strongest trainer. Not anymore. But hearing somebody say he could be strong because he was kind…? Especially after what he had done…what he had _tried_ to do… Tears threatened to sting at his eyes.

“Thank you…” he whispered.

Kabu gave his shoulder a quick, firm squeeze before he released him. “I would suggest you pay a visit to Turffield or Hulbury next. Both of them are fairly close by Motostoke. It shouldn’t take you too long to reach either by foot.”

“Thank you. I will consider that.”

And just like that, Kabu recalled his pokemon and left him to go back to the locker room himself. Natural took a moment to gather himself before leaving the stadium. After the battle and the run, all he wanted to do was take another shower and rest. He felt his stomach growl as he left the stadium and decided to add getting dinner to that list.

He ended up finding a café he had seen on the main strip going into Motostoke. It turned out to be a battle café. While Natural wasn’t too interested in having another battle, he did so anyway. He fed Blipbug one of the exp. candy XSs and the one level he gained from that helped him win. Blipbug got a free rage candy bar for his efforts, which he kindly split with Fern while Natural ate his own meal.

By the time Natural returned to his hotel room he had decided on three things. First that he would explore the city some more the following day before he would leave. Second that he would head for Turffield next. And third that he would spend however long it would take to evolve Blipbug before he made it to the next city.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So in addition to not being used to calling him Natural instead of N, I for some reason cannot seem to call Fern "it" instead of "she". >< Even though it is an it! Rotom are genderless!


End file.
